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Ethical Issues in Genetic Linkage Studies of Psychiatric Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Joyce Rachel Alexander ,
Bernard Lerer  and
Miron Baron
Joyce Rachel Alexander*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Post Office Box 12000, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Bernard Lerer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, and Department of Psychiatry, Hebrew University – Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
Miron Baron
Affiliation:
Division of Psychogenetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, New York 10032, USA
*
∗Correspondence
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Extract

Recent advances in molecular genetics have radically altered the prospects for determining the role of heredity in the transmission of major psychiatric disorders. Identification of the actual gene(s) involved, elucidation of their structure, and determination of their products are the steps which theoretically follow successful demonstration of linkage (Gurling, 1985; Baron & Rainer, 1988). Consideration of the ethical issues raised by genetic linkage studies is therefore now of paramount importance. This article focuses on the problems raised by the research process, and not on the ethical implications of the results eventually obtained.

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The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 98 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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